


Drowning in your eyes (something about two birds and a stone)

by freshpageonthedesk



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bars and Pubs, Clexa, College, Cute Clarke Griffin/Lexa, F/F, Happy Ending, Minor Character(s), Minor Octavia Blake/Lincoln, One Shot, Song: Blinding Lights (The Weeknd)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:07:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27136366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freshpageonthedesk/pseuds/freshpageonthedesk
Summary: ~ "Do you want to dance?”No, Lexa did not want to dance. Dancing was for extroverted people who didn't mind making a fool of themselves, not for bitter, hopelessly in love lesbians who followed kickboxing classes just for fun.She smiled nervously. "Yeah, sure." ~On a night out, Anya tries to convince Lexa to move on from her everlasting crush on her fellow student Clarke Griffin.That very same night, Clarke offers Lexa a drink.
Relationships: Anya/Raven Reyes, Clarke Griffin & Lexa, Clarke Griffin/Lexa
Comments: 10
Kudos: 182





	Drowning in your eyes (something about two birds and a stone)

“Lex.” 

Anya snapped her fingers inches in front of her best friend’s face in a last attempt to retrieve her from her continuous daydreaming. She should have known better than to take Lexa to Lincoln’s bar downtown, which was the number one hangout spot for most undergraduates in their teacher training program. Not only did that include their shunned exes Costia and Raven, it also implied that Lexa would be staring at the bar all night long, unable to take her eyes off the one blonde girl she really _shouldn’t_ have a soft spot for. 

“Jesus, could you want her more?” Anya asked irritably once the person in front of her had more or less returned to earth. The question wasn’t meant to be answered, but Lexa shook her head anyhow. 

“Seriously, _look_ at her. I don’t understand how you can just ignore her when she’s obviously the prettiest girl in town.” With a deep sigh, Lexa took a sip from her largely untouched drink, seemingly only just remembering it was there.

“ _You_ think she’s the prettiest girl in town, Lex, therefore it’s not an established reality. In fact, I think there are more guys who have a thing for _you_ than for her. Pretty ludicrous how the world works, if you think about it.” 

Lexa scrunched her nose in disgust – if ever you wanted her attention, all you needed to do was to mention a boy. As a sports teacher, Lexa could very well stand her ground between the guys and mostly even preferred befriending them over friendships with girls, because she claimed the latter were “unnecessarily complicated”. Yet when it came to relationships, even _thinking_ about the other gender in that way was simply too much for her to handle. “Isn’t it clear for them that I’m not interested?” 

One corner of Anya’s mouth curled up in an amused smirk, which she tried to repress since she didn’t want to make too much fun of the irony in that sentence. Still, she couldn’t resist the urge to remark: “Yeah, you’re to speak.” 

Many times, Anya had suggested Lexa would try to move on, to close the chapter _Clarke Griffin_ and find herself a girl that wasn’t as straight as one could be. Maybe it was indeed love that made it impossible for Lexa to follow this advice. Yet Anya preferred to blame her best friend’s stubbornness for the fact that she’d been crushing on the same unattainable girl for _over two years_. In every tiny pointless thing, Lexa seemed to recognize a sign of Clarke’s potentially non-straight sexuality – such as the way she walked, or how she always kept her nails short, or that she swore a remarkable lot for an ostensibly innocent girl like her. Opposing signs, like seeing her kissing a boy and attending class in his sweatshirt the next day, Lexa masterfully ignored. 

“Okay, I have an idea.” Anya leaned closer over the table and made sure to block Lexa’s view on the bar so that she would keep her thoughts with the conversation this time. “I know you don’t want to tell her about your feelings, but what if we somehow made her _find out_ you have a thing for her?”

Lexa raised her brow in surprise for one split second, then her expression returned to her skeptical, somewhat bitter self she always tended to be whenever she didn’t catch sight of Clarke. “I always suspected your aim was to destroy my life, Ahn. Now I know for sure.” 

Anya rolled her eyes. “Come on, Lex, you’re wasting your time. College has to be the best time of your life, you know? As it seems Clarke agrees with _that_ , so why would you keep holding your feelings to yourself hoping she might return them one day when you obviously know that’s never going to happen?” 

“ _Because_ I know it’s never going to happen.” As her drink didn’t seem to satisfy her, Lexa switched to chewing on her straw in a frustrated manner. “I know my hopes will be crushed forever and I don’t want that to happen because they’re basically all that’s keeping me going. I’m not one for the party life, you know that, I wouldn’t enjoy hooking up with other girls while in fact all I really want is to be with _her_.” 

The last word came out in a plaintive little voice. Anya pursed her lips, starting to feel guilty about bringing up the sensitive topic. It was sad to see her best friend like this and she really wished she could help her, but she knew there wasn’t much for her to do. Her previous attempts to set Lexa up with some acquaintances she thought would be suitable for her - one of which resembled Clarke quite a lot - had turned out to be disasters one by one. Lexa simply fell in love too real, too early, and with the wrong person. Nothing but time would be able to heal that. 

“I know, Lex, I’m sorry.” In a friendly gesture, Anya took Lexa’s hand on the table and squeezed it softly. Because she moved, the bar came back into view and Lexa caught sight of some boy who had his arm around Clarke’s shoulders. He looked pretty drunk and Clarke resolutely kept him off, although she didn’t try to get rid of his arm around her and happily joined in laughing whenever the boy made a joke. Just witnessing it made Lexa’s heart bleed with how badly _she_ wanted to be the one standing next to her, holding her, laughing with her. Like Anya, Lexa too had questioned the reasonableness of her love for Clarke multiple times, but in moments like these, she just knew there wasn’t going to be anyone coming near to what she felt for this small blonde with sky blue eyes and a genuine smile that kept her up at night. It wasn’t until Anya turned around to find out what she was staring at that Lexa withdrew her gaze and miserably buried her hands in her face. 

“You’re right, I can’t take this much longer," she sighed.

“Oh, Lex.” Anya gave her a pitiful look. Others would argue the Asian history teacher tended to be a little heartless, but to Lexa, she’d always been the caring sister that neither of them had been lucky enough to have. “I’m pretty sure that’s not her boyfriend, if that makes you feel any better,” Anya tried. “I’ve heard saying that he’s Octavia’s older brother, and that Clarke rejects him every single time.” 

By means of an answer, Lexa opened her fingers a little so she could peek at her best friend without having Clarke entering her peripheral. “I don’t know what to do. I know it’s pointless and I’ll get hurt but that doesn’t stop me from being in love with her.” 

Anya tilted her head to the left and smiled reassuringly. “Maybe you're right, maybe you shouldn’t do anything. These feelings _will_ pass at some point, trust me. And in the meantime, if she makes you happy by just talking to you every now and then – and I can see that she does – I don’t see what could be wrong with that.” 

Lexa wanted to answer but stopped herself when she saw someone heading towards their table. It was Octavia, one of the brightest students of their year _and_ Clarke’s official best friend, who majored in sports just like Lexa. At first Lexa had the foolish idea Octavia might be coming over for her, but the martial arts specialist turned to Anya instead. 

“Anya, hey, um, we – well, actually, _Raven_ – were wondering if you maybe wanted to come sit with us. No obligation, of course. Just in case you feel like it.”

Anya’s eyes widened and for a second she found herself unable to speak. Her past with Raven was short, but troublesome – the two had met at a party and woken up in the same bed the next morning. It was an incident Anya had wanted to forget about as fast as possible, and she would have succeeded to, if it weren’t for Raven’s persistent attempts to get her to pursue whatever it was that they were having. Once Anya had fallen for her, she had fallen so deeply that there was nothing in this world she cared more about than this energetic, slightly goofy car mechanic who mostly just drove her insane. And Lexa knew her best friend still cared, in spite of her solemn promises to never let herself in with a troublemaker like Raven again. 

They didn’t break up over a mistake, nor out of a lack of love for each other. Everyone who knew them agreed that _Ranya_ , as they were nicknamed, were made for one another. But Raven gravely injured her leg in a car accident – which was another example of the cruel irony of life – and Anya’s constant will to help in contrast to Raven’s aversion of everything that made her feel disabled, became too much a burden for their young relationship to carry. Somehow Lexa had always expected the two girls to find their way back to each other at some point, but now over one and a half years had passed and they still avoided talking to one another. In some way, Anya’s problem was the complete opposite of Lexa’s; the Asian had found a girl she could _and_ _did_ love openly, yet it were these exact feelings that scared her away from what ought to be her one true love. 

Lexa could see all of this reflected in Anya’s eyes when she contemplated the situation. Her voice was somewhat breathless when she asked: “She really said that?” 

“Well, she agreed that would be nice, so.” Octavia briefly glanced at Lexa, but the invitation for her to join them as well never came. That’s why Lexa cleared her throat and decided to make the choice in her best friend’s place. 

“You go,” she said warmly. “I was planning to go home anyway.” 

“But you haven’t finished your drink yet,” Anya objected. “You should at least come with me-” 

“No, really, it’s fine.” On second thought, Lexa agreed it wouldn’t be the best for her to hang out with Clarke’s friends, especially not when Clarke was drunk and surrounded by boys who wanted to bang her. One look was enough for Anya to understand what her friend was thinking, and the Asian nodded while she got up. Her unbalanced demeanor was endearing enough for Lexa to give her a sincere smile as she raised her glass to her friend. “Good luck, Ahn.” 

The alcohol in her cocktail was exactly what Lexa needed to calm her nerves with a pleasantly tingly sensation. She didn't often drink alcohol, partly as a matter of remaining fit for her soccer games, but also because she simply didn’t see the point of getting drunk and temporarily forgetting about all her problems, only for them to return twice as bad in the morning. A good cocktail from time to time did hit its purpose, however, and that was definitely the case for this moment.

She wasn’t exactly hurrying to leave, yet with only her cocktail to entertain her, the glass was empty quicker than she thought. Actually she regretted going home this early, as the prospect of spending the rest of the night lying awake and overthinking wasn’t really something to look forward to. 

“Do you want another one?” 

Lexa froze just as she was about to put on her coat. She recognized that voice out of thousands, and even if she wouldn’t be able to distinguish it, it would still have this effect on her where she found herself unable to breathe and felt too hot and too cold at the same time. When she looked up to her big crush, she was very aware of how flushed her cheeks were and how little that had to do with the alcohol. 

Clarke was smiling one of her Clarke-smiles that was hard to estimate, but best classified somewhere midway between shy and amused. 

“I can’t recall you working here,” Lexa stammered, with even more blood rushing to her cheeks as a result. This was by far not her first time talking to Clarke Griffin, but if her judgment wasn’t wrong and the blonde girl was actually offering her a drink, _that_ for sure was a primer. 

Luckily, Clarke took her clumsy answer as a joke and her lovely smile spread further across her face. “I don’t, but one of my friends does and I feel obligated to take care of his non-existent marketing department.” She dropped a short pause before she added: “ _Or_ I saw your friend leaving you and I thought maybe you could use another drink.” 

Lexa pressed her lips together, unsure of whether or not she should feel offended. “Well, she didn’t really _leave_ me, I was about to go home anyway, so,” she explained timidly.

“Ah.” Clarke sheepishly scratched her neck, now aware of the inadvertent undertone of her words. “I guess I can’t convince you to stay a little longer to keep _me_ company? ‘Cause I could really use a drink, since all my friends are either flirting with their ex-girlfriends or too drunk to stand.” 

It took Lexa a while to answer, even though this wasn’t a hard question at all. However, her heart rate pounding vigorously in her throat made it hard to make up a way to react without coming across as too eager.

“Well, alright,” she said eventually. “Although I think I’ll need something lighter than this, if I want to make it to my dorm on both legs.” 

Clarke’s face lit up happily, which was so cute to see that for a second it actually sent Lexa’s thoughts off into that great imaginative world where Clarke was in love with her. But then the blonde girl said: “Great, I’ll take care of that. You want to join us by the bar?” and Lexa’s heart sank in her chest all the same. 

Of course Clarke Griffin didn’t want to get to know her better, of course she’d merely noticed Octavia’s mistake to leave her there on her own and wanted to make up for that, goodhearted as she was. 

Well, on second thought, that was already something.

Lexa hung her coat over her arm and sheepishly followed the blonde to the bar, where she was already ordering something with frantic hand gestures. Anya and Raven were nowhere to be seen, thus Lexa decided to take a seat next to her classmate Octavia. The two boys of the company, Bellamy and Murphy, were using their bar stools as support as they were holding a conquest to see who could drink his beer the fastest. Luckily they weren’t paying attention to the girls, so Lexa eyed Octavia. 

“How did things go with Raven and Anya?” she asked. “Do you think they’ll make up?” 

“I’m afraid not. It started well, but then they seemed to be arguing, and now they both went home.” Octavia tore a beer mat apart and then shrugged apologetically to Lincoln, who was disapprovingly shaking his head at her. 

“Oh no.” Lexa bit her lip, wondering if she could better leave now to catch Anya before the history teacher would lock herself up in her dorm and swallow her feelings forever. The thought was chased away by Clarke who was back with two drinks and settled into the free spot in between Lexa and Bellamy. 

“What is there to say _oh no_ about?” she asked as she handed the brunette her drink with a light brushing of their fingers that gave Lexa goosebumps all over her arm. 

“Anya and Raven arguing again,” Lexa explained before she hastily took a gulp from whatever it was Clarke had bought her. She needed more alcohol as an excuse for the ever-present blush on her cheeks. The cocktail tasted sweet and soft, very fresh and new, like the summer, or, as she decided, like Clarke. 

“Oh yeah, that is definitely a good reason to be somber. Although in fact it’s already an improvement that they’re talking in the first place.” 

For some unclear reason, Octavia scoffed, then hopped off her chair and walked around the bar to join Lincoln behind it. Lexa didn’t pay much attention to the couple and kept her eyes glued to the gorgeous girl next to her. 

“This is delicious,” she complimented on Clarke’s cocktail choice. “What is it?” 

“Special recipe,” the blonde said mysteriously, with a satisfied grin. “I like to experiment sometimes.” 

That was true, Lexa knew. As a teacher majoring in art, Clarke’s creativity was endless and had caused trouble multiple times. Once, she’d even set a whole floor of her dorm building on fire during some experiment with hand-crafted giant caramel- scented candles. People were complaining about the caramel smell for days, to which Clarke only laconically claimed that at least the candles had worked before she blew them up. 

“Very interesting,” Lexa mumbled as she aimlessly focused on playing with the straw in her glass – she couldn’t handle much more contact with those sky blue eyes before her legs would literally collapse under her. 

Clarke, however, thought differently. With a firm thump, she put her glass down on the bar and turned more towards Lexa. “Enough about friends and cocktails. Do you want to dance?” 

_No, Lexa did not want to dance. Dancing was for extroverted people who didn’t mind making a fool of themselves, not for bitter, hopelessly in love lesbians who followed kickboxing classes just for fun._

By lack of another alternative, she again faced her favorite pair of blue eyes, and a little bit below them her favorite pair of lips, which were still curled up into a smile that this time looked primarily challenging. 

_Well, if Clarke wanted to dance, they were going to dance._

She smiled nervously. “Yeah, sure.” 

Clarke seemed surprised by this answer, but she was still quick to jump off her stool and precede Lexa to the dancefloor. The song that was playing had been on top of the charts for weeks now, but Lexa didn’t have any special connection with it. So far, at least. Once she saw Clarke swaying her hips to the rhythm, she knew it would be goddamn hard to ever erase that picture from her mind. 

_I look around and Sin City’s cold and empty_

_No one’s around to judge me_

_Oh, I can’t see clearly when you’re gone_

“Come on!” Clarke took both Lexa’s hands in hers to pull her closer, making the brunette’s heart go in overdrive. Luckily she dropped them again seconds later and made a swift turnaround, then mouthed along to the lyrics as she threw herself on the catchy beats of the chorus. 

_I said, oh, I’m blinded by the lights_

_No, I can’t sleep until I feel your touch_

Lexa thanked the lord this wasn’t a slow song. Even though slowing with Clarke would be a dream come true, she wasn’t sure she could handle that much close contact. 

And still, all she wanted to do was to hold her. While Lexa tried to dance along as well as she could, her primary occupation was always the beautiful blonde girl that was moving in such a free, unconcerned way, only for her.

Dancing had been a _very_ good idea.

_I said, oh, I’m drowning in the night_

_Oh, when I’m like this, you’re the one I trust_

Never before had she listened to the lyrics so attentively as when Clarke was singing along with them. They were so fitting, so incredibly fitting. With this girl by her side, the world around her simply vanished. They weren’t in a café in the middle of a crowded dance floor anymore, they were alone on their own little planet, just the song and Lexa and Clarke. Clarke Clarke Clarke. There would never be anyone but Clarke. 

_I’m just walking by to let you know_

_I can never say it on the phone_

_Will never let you go this time_

Lexa didn’t even realize she’d stopped dancing until Clarke quit her movements as well and took a reluctant step closer to her. The blonde frowned questioningly and her lips parted slightly although she didn’t say anything. And then they were breathing the same air and Lexa’s heart was beating out of her chest in excitement and not even a fever would have been a valid excuse for how hard she was blushing. 

_Will never let you go this time._

One cocktail had been enough to cover Lexa’s head in a fuzzy smoke that prevented her from thinking rationally, so she curled one hand around the back of Clarke’s neck and kissed her. Given the circumstances, it was surprising how calm she felt when the lips she’d been dreaming of for so long finally met hers. They were just as soft as she imagined them to be and the kiss spread a pleasant warmth through her body that started by her mouth and ended somewhere deep in her underbelly. Although Clarke didn’t push her away, it did take a few seconds before she kissed her back. _When_ she did, however, the already very present butterflies in Lexa’s stomach reacted so strongly they again confirmed what she already knew.

There would never be anyone but Clarke. 

_No I can’t sleep until I feel your touch_

Clarke pulled away too soon, not only from the kiss but also from the hesitant contact between them. Her eyes didn’t seek Lexa’s, instead they turned to the floor as she took a step back. The butterflies in Lexa’s stomach closed their wings and hid into a corner as the realization of what she’d done hit her. A fearful sting took a hold of her heart and pressed on her lungs. Breathing was suddenly harder than ever.

“Sorry,” she blurted out before Clarke could say something. “I’m really sorry, I…”

She trailed off because there was no way for her to finish that sentence. The song had made place for a cheesy ballad, which also didn’t help to lighten the mood. All alcohol seemed to have left her body in exchange for a very alarming realization that she had just kissed Clarke Griffin without her permission.

Oh God. 

“Sorry,” she uttered again, but her voice was too soft for Clarke to hear. Then, Lexa turned around and hurried to the door without looking back, not even when she believed to hear Clarke’s voice yelling after her. All that mattered now was to get out of there. What she would do after that were worries for later. 

Because she’d left her coat by the bar, she went outside in only a thin T-shirt that didn’t offer much protection against the breezy night sky. Going back was not an option, plus it was only a two-block walk to her building, nothing she couldn't make. With her arms protectively wrapped around her body, she closed the door behind her and rushed off into the dark. In her quick pace, she didn’t notice the person who was sitting against the pub's front wall until she almost tripped over their outstretched legs. 

“Sorry,” a familiar voice said. Lexa stopped dead in her tracks.

“Raven?” 

The mechanic looked up to her. She was wearing her typical red jacket, the hood of her sweater pulled over her ears to keep warm. It was clear that she had been crying because her eyes were all red and puffy and she needed to sniff a few times before she was able to talk. 

“Hi, Lexa. You alright?” 

The fact that Raven had to ask _her_ that question notified Lexa of how weird this must be looking. The sports teacher tentatively licked her lips and then nodded. 

“Yeah, it’s… complicated," she answered thoughtfully.

Raven sniffed again, then averted her gaze to the street in front of her, her attitude all wistful. “Tell me about it,” she mumbled wryly. 

After a moment of consideration, Lexa took place by Raven's side on the pavement.

“Do you want to talk about it?” 

When Anya had first gotten together with her, Lexa didn’t like the mechanic at all. In her opinion, she was a dominant and somewhat arrogant person whom she didn’t trust with her best friend’s easy-to-hurt heart. Over time, though, she’d gradually grown to appreciate her more. Overwhelming as Raven could be, she genuinely cared for Anya and had taught her to love, had melted her into a better person than she used to be. So no matter what would happen between the two girls in the future, Lexa would always be grateful for that. 

“What is there to say? I screwed up.” Raven picked up a pebble and furiously threw it onto the street. The stone bounced a few times before it came to a halt on the asphalt with a muffled thud. “She doesn’t want me anymore, I think that’s pretty clear.” 

“But _you_ still want her?” Lexa informed. 

Her next pebble almost made it to the other side of the road, reflecting the frustration with which it was thrown. Its thrower shrugged miserably. “I’ve never stopped being in love with her, Lexa. When we split, I assumed it would be temporary, because in that moment we both weren’t where we should be and a break would be better for both of us. Maybe I wrongfully took our relationship for granted, I don’t know. I just figured we would be able to repair it once the drama went down a bit. Well, once I stopped being an absolute jerk because I lost my leg’s functionality, that is to say.”

Lexa gave her a compassionate look. “Nothing is irreparable, Raven. It will just take time.” 

She shook her head in a defeated way. “No. Not this. You know Anya better than anyone else, Lexa. It’s simple. Once you lose her, you lose her.” 

“Not you.” 

That made Raven frown. She ceased her angry pebble throwing to look at the girl next to her, who gave her a reassuring little smile. “I know Anya still cares about you, Raven. She might not want to admit it but it’s not so hard to see that you’re her whole world. From what I can tell, I think she’s afraid to get hurt again and she turns that around by pulling up walls to keep you out. So if you truly love her, you should tell her. Tell her how you feel about this and tell her how much you want her back. Let her yell at you if she feels like it, let her act all cold and heartless, under that mask you’ll see she’s still that same person who used to never shut up about you. I indeed know her better than anyone else, so I also know that she misses you.”

“Does she?” Raven’s voice was now a faint whisper, which made her look more vulnerable than Lexa had ever seen her. Like this, she was only a glimpse of the tough, slightly boyish car mechanic she was known to be. 

“Yes.” Hesitantly, Lexa placed her hand on her shoulder to give her an encouraging squeeze. Contrary to what she was expecting, Raven didn’t immediately shake her off. She even gave her a thankful smile before she let out a deep sigh and got up.

“So I guess I should go talk to her.” 

Lexa got up too. Although she might have just helped a miracle to happen, she was sort of regretting it that she’d lost time getting cold by sitting still on a frozen sidewalk. She wrapped her arms tighter around her ribs and nodded to Raven. “You’ll be fine.” 

The mechanic buried her hands in the pockets of her jacket and inhaled sharply to assemble her courage. Before she walked away, however, she turned back to Lexa. “Um, Lexa, I don’t really know what’s going on but... don’t be too hard on Clarke, yeah? She’s just come out of a difficult relationship and she hasn’t quite found herself back yet. But I know you’re important to her, so…” Her voice trailed off slowly and she shrugged nonchalantly, as if what she was saying wasn’t such a big deal. “Well, see you later then.” 

For a second, Lexa was too confused to answer. _You’re important to her?_ What was that supposed to mean? 

“Probably nothing,” she mumbled to herself. There was quite a lot to think about, but first she needed to get home before her fingers would freeze off.

“Raven is right.” 

Lexa whirled around, startling badly at the sudden voice right behind her. Like always, she’d recognized it effortlessly and her eyes knew who they would find standing by the bar entrance. Clarke pursed her lips as she slowly walked towards her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to overhear your conversation. I just wanted to make sure you wouldn’t run off again.” 

Because she only had eyes for Clarke – and because a paralyzing nervousness creeping up her spine prevented her from moving – she didn’t notice her coat hanging over the blonde girl’s arm until she was standing right in front of her. Clarke cleared her throat and folded the jacket open to give it to her. “I thought you could use this, it’s cold,” she explained unnecessarily. 

“Thank you.” It was now probably up to Lexa to give an explanation, but she couldn’t bring herself to say much more than this and therefore focused on putting on the coat while she waited for Clarke to continue.

“You did that amazingly well,” the blonde appreciated. “With Raven. My attempt turned out less successful.” When Lexa furrowed a brow, she added: “You know, with Octavia asking her over for a drink…” 

“Was that your idea?” 

Clarke nervously brushed a strand of hair out of her face. “Yeah, um, in fact I was looking for a chance to talk to you. I thought it’d be ideal, you know, two birds with one stone, but as it turns out I’ve ruined both things.” 

“You mean _I_ ruined it.” Lexa uncomfortably shifted her weight to her other leg. “Look, I really don’t know what I was thinking-” 

“Shh.” Clarke took a step closer, closing the distance between them as she boldly placed her hands on Lexa’s shoulders. The latter was completely dumbfounded by this move and too insecure to do the same with Clarke. The blonde swallowed and carefully avoided Lexa’s gaze as she spoke. 

“I said Raven was right – you _are_ important to me, Lexa. And _I’m_ the one who ruined it because I shouldn’t have stepped back. I also didn’t mean to, but everything was going quite fast and I didn’t know why you…” She sighed.

“Because I’m in love with you,” Lexa blurted out. “I have been for a long time. That’s why I kissed you, I…” She took a short pause to inhale, as she suddenly realized she hadn’t been breathing in a while. When she continued, her voice was soft and fragile. “I’m so in love with you, Clarke.” 

Now that she’d actually said it, it felt like a huge relief. Clarke’s eyes now met hers, their mesmerizing blue color so close that Lexa really had no choice but to drown in them. The next seconds seemed to pass in slow motion, although she thought she could see a twinkle entering Clarke’s pupils. Then, the tiniest smirk appeared around her lips.

“I love you too, Lexa.” 

Clarke’s hands traveled to Lexa’s neck when she pulled her in a kiss. It was only when Lexa felt the lips she’d been desiring for over two years uniting with hers that she finally dared to believe all of this was really happening. Somewhere she registered her hands automatically settling on the blonde’s waist. As a reaction, Clarke changed the arc of the kiss, then leaned in further as if Lexa wasn’t already completely blown off her feet. There was no pulling away from Clarke’s part this time, which is why Lexa eventually rested their foreheads together so they could get a much needed grasp of air. Their breaths created tiny clouds in the chilly night sky.

“Raven said you just came out of a difficult relationship...”

Clarke’s eyes opened again. Lexa didn’t want to spoil the mood by asking this question, but it was already pressingly on her mind even now, so if she didn’t want to start flying entirely, they had to talk about where this was going.

“You know what…” Clarke’s finger traced the curve of Lexa’s jaw down to her chin, then went up to her cheek when she noticed she was making the other girl shiver. “When you ran away, I realized my stupid mistakes are not worth feeling bad over when I can have something good instead.”

“Are you sure? Because we really don’t have to rush anything, I can wait if you’re not ready yet, I mean I’ve been waiting for years, so I can definitely wait some more,” Lexa gushed, suddenly speaking very fast now that she felt a little more comfortable. She meant every word she said, although her arms grabbing Clarke firmer at the same time told a completely different story.

_Will never let you go this time._

The blonde chuckled and shook her head, endeared by Lexa’s sweetness.

“Clarke…” Lexa tried again, but she was cut off this time.

“Shh.” 

If that wasn’t enough to make her shut up, the kiss Clarke gave her next definitely was. 

Oh, there would only be Clarke. 

* * *

It was ten in the morning when Clarke carefully pulled the door shut behind her. After a night out, most of the building was still sound asleep, so she tried not to make too much noise on her way out. If she wanted to pack her stuff before her mom would pick her up to spend the weekend at home, she needed to hurry. 

“Clarke?” 

The astonished voice behind her made the blonde jump. “Jesus, Raven,” she hissed as she placed her hand on her beating heart. Once she’d more or less recovered from the shock, however, a wide grin started to spread across her face. Raven being in this corridor at this time of the day could only mean one thing – and the mechanic’s chaotic hairstyle confirmed her assumptions. “You made up with Anya, didn’t you?” 

Raven’s hesitance was enough proof for Clarke to jump right into her friend's arms. “God, Raven, that’s the best news, I’m so happy for you!” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Raven brushed her friend off with a chuckle. Though she tried her best to hide it, her ears were turning as red as the color of her jacket. “Now, the real question is, what are _you_ doing here?” she asked in an attempt to lead the attention off the subject.

Clarke licked her lips and thoughtfully scratched her neck. “Long story,” she decided. 

Raven opened her mouth to insist, but at that moment the door behind Clarke cracked open to reveal a still sleepy Lexa, lured out by the sound of voices in the corridor. 

“…or short story,” Clarke mumbled with a shy smile as she cast a conspiratorial glance at her girlfriend. 

Raven shifted her gaze from the one very much in love girl to the other, apparently not knowing what to say. Then, she chose the easy option and simply flung her arms around them both to pull them in a very messy, overly happy hug. “Finally,” she exclaimed. “Oh my god, I always knew you two were going to hook up. Oh, this is so exciting, we can go on double dates now!” 

Clarke raised her brow. “With you? Hell, save me that.” She pushed Raven away, more to save Lexa than to save herself. When she checked on her lover, the brunette was biting her lip not to grin as she tried to keep her eyes off Clarke, who was wearing one of _her_ sweatshirts today. Even after ten hours with her, all of this was still just as crazy as when Clarke first kissed her out in the streets. But it was a good kind of crazy, a _very_ good kind, and Lexa doubted if it would ever feel normal to be dating the blonde art teacher with the sky blue eyes.

Not that it had to.

“We should go, Rae, our mothers will be there in less than twenty minutes,” Clarke alerted. The mechanic’s eyes widened in panic and her nose turned slightly pale as she checked her watch and mumbled _fuck_ under her breath, then sped off in the direction of the staircase.

“Shouldn’t you go too?” Lexa asked when Clarke was still standing in front of her door, even though Raven had already disappeared from view.

“Oh, I should,” Clarke said with a naughty grin. “Unfortunately I’m a little distracted.”

They kissed without even knowing who started first. With one hand, Lexa closed the door behind her and then leaned against it as short chaste kisses culminated into hands slipping under sweatshirts – _her_ sweatshirt, around _her_ girl.

“Now go, you fool,” she grinned when she sensed that Clarke was about to not leave at all. The blonde sighed and reluctantly let her go, then straightened her messy clothes.

“Call me when you’re home, yeah?”

Lexa frowned. “How am I supposed to do that? _You_ have my number, not the other way around.”

“Oh.” Clarke smirked. “Well, then I guess I will call you. Or I won’t, and I’ll let you wait until Monday to see me again.”

“You can’t miss me that long,” Lexa teased.

“What makes you think that?”

Clarke leaned in for another quick kiss, which Lexa avoided by briskly slipping inside her room and leaving the door on just a crack so the art teacher couldn't reach her. “This,” she laughed.

“Oh, _fine_ , I’ll call you.” Giving up entirely, Clarke pulled Lexa back outside by her sleeve and plastered her face with kisses. “I love you,” she whispered in a low voice.

Before Lexa could say it back, they were interrupted by a loud noise at the end of the corridor. It was a fuming Raven, who apparently still hadn’t left and didn’t care much about the morning rest of the other inhabitants.

“CLARKE JESUS GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE NOW!”

Despite Raven’s anger, Lexa had to laugh when she saw her there, getting herself into trouble just like Clarke was. _All for her and her best friend._

“What are you laughing about?”

Lexa shook her head, smiling.

“Something about two birds and a stone.”


End file.
